Habitat/Ecosystem
Julián Aguirre-Santoro
Assistant Curator of Vascular Plants, Latin America Herbarium, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: jaguirre-santoro@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant systematics and floristics
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Suriname, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts
Wendy Applequist
Associate Scientist, William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject of interest: Plant taxonomy, medicinal plants, natural product discovery
Primary geographic interest: United States, Madagascar
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest ,Savanna, Shrubland
Matthew Austin
Curator of Biodiversity Data, Herbarium, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: maustin@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Herbaria, global change biology, hyperspectral botany, phenology, ecology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Urban Areas, Botanic Gardens and Herbaria
Eli Baskir
Manager of Behavioral Sciences, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: baskir@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Animal behavior
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Zoos
Karen Bauman
Manager of Reproductive Sciences, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: kbauman@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: All species, especially canids and ungulates; reproduction, wildlife technologies
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Ex situ, North America, global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Zoos
Peter Bernhardt
Research Associate of Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Pollination; Anthophilous insects (bees, beetles, syrphid flies, butterflies and moths); flowering plant groups (orchids and other petaloid monocots), montane wildflowers of the Himalayas; Proteaceae of Australia; plant systematics and phytogeography of the floras of southern Australia; redbuds and dogwoods of Missouri; pollination in urban versus rural flora native to North America; popular illustrations and depictions of flora and their pollinators from the 19th-21st century; the history of the writings of Charles Darwin and his contemporaries on floral adaptation/evolution; bee diversity on rural versus urban trees of redbud (Cercis canadensis) and dogwood (Cornus florida) in St. Louis and its counties
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Saint Louis, Missouri, Kansas), Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia), China (Kunming, Lijiang and Yulong (Yunnan))
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savana, Shrubland, Grassland, Montane>3000m
Stephen Blake
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Saint Louis University
- Email: stephen.blake@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecology and conservation of mega vertebrates
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Congo Basin, Galapagos Islands, Central Africa, Saint Louis, MO
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
David Bogler
Research Associate, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant systematics, floristics, molecular systematics, anatomy, microscopy, ecology, sustainability, palynology, teaching
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: USA, Mexico
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas
Adrianus (Jacco) Boon
Professor, WashU School of Medicine
- Email: jboon@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Virology and virus ecology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: USA
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Emily Bowling
Conservation Education Liaison, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: bowling@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Palm oil sustainability, public education, local conservation
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Tropical rainforests, Forests, Agricultural land, Urban areas
Louise Bradshaw
Retired Director of Education, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: bradshawrl@yahoo.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Climate change education, enhancing biodiversity, community-based conservation engagement, nature-based education, urban biodiversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Saint Louis region (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban biodiversity
John Brinda
Assistant Scientist, Herbarium, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: john.brinda@mobot.org
Primary subject of interest: Ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of bryophytes
Primary geographic area of interest: USA, Madagascar, Philippines
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts
Mónica Carlsen
Scientist 2 - Education Program Manager, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: monica.carlsen@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant diversity and evolution, systematics, phylogenomics, pollination biology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Neotropics (emphasis on Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Brazil)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Bruce Carlson
Professor of Biology, WashU
- Email: carlson.bruce@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Sensory and evolutionary neuroscience in electric fish
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Sub-Saharan Africa
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater
Bob Coulter
Director, Litzsinger Road Ecology Center, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: bob.coulter@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Youth civic engagement and place-based education
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Freshwater
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Tom Croat
P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany, Latin America, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Systematics and Ecology of Araceae; Phenology of flowering and fruiting in tropical ecosystems
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Neotropics
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest ,Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land
Gautam Dantas
Conan Professor in Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, WashU School of Medicine
- Email: dantas@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: (1) Understanding how diverse microbiomes respond to chemical and biological perturbations, (2) harnessing these insights to rationally design therapeutic strategies to curtail antibiotic-resistant pathogens and remedy pathological microbiome states, and (3) engineering microbial catalysts to convert renewable biomass into value chemicals such as biofuels and pharmaceuticals.
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, El Salvador, Peru, Pakistan, Niger, South Africa, Republic of Congo, Netherlands, China, India
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Agricultural lands, Urban areas, Built environment
Sharon Deem
Director, Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine
- Email: deem@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: One health, conservation medicine
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global with current emphasis areas in USA, Ecuador, Brazil, Kenya, Madagascar
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Freshwater, Marine, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Zoos
LEC Seed Grant Projects
- Ecological Niche Modeling to Examine the Interactions Between Climate-related Environmental Change, Food Security, Landscape Diversity and an Emerging Infectious Disease
- Expanding the Toolset for Chelonian Conservation: Understanding the Diversity, Distribution and Dynamics of Box Turtle Microbiomes
- Quantifying Effects of Parasites on Ecosystem Nutrient Cycling
- Reducing Human-Wildlife Conflict in East Africa Using Participatory Action Research
- Using iDNA to Increase the Protected Status of the Djeke Triangle and Enhance Disease Surveillance in the Congo Basin
- Going Wild in Forest Park: Tracking the Movement of Wildlife and Disease in an Urban Food Web
Karen DeMatteo
Research Affiliate, WildCare Institute at the Saint Louis Zoo / Academic Advisor, Biology Department, WashU / Conservation Detection Dog Handler/Trainer, A K9 Nose Knows
- Email: KarenDeMatteo@outlook.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecology, conservation, and management of predator-prey species using noninvasive techniques
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Nebraska, and San Francisco), South America (Argentina), & Asia (Bhutan)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Monocultural plantations & fragmented ecosystems
Aimee Dunlap
Associate Professor, Biology Department, University of Missouri-Saint Louis
- Email: aimee.dunlap@umsl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Cognitive, behavioral, and urban ecology, mechanisms of decision making, pollination and foraging in bees and flies
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Zoos
Ashley Edes
Animal Welfare Scientist, Department of Reproductive and Behavioral Sciences, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: aedes@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Animal welfare, stress, behavior, endocrinology, physiology, biomarkers, animal wellbeing, visitor effects, primatology, allostatic load
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Zoos
Justin Elden
Curator of Herpetology & Aquatics, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: elden@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Herpetology, Conservation Biology, Cave Biology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Via the Saint Louis Zoo(Missouri, Armenia, Ecuador) and externally (Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Puerto Rico)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Freshwater, Caves and subterranean habitats, Deserts, Urban areas, Zoos
Kate Farley
Assistant Scientist, William L. Brown Center
- Email: kfarley@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ethnobotany, traditional ecological knowledge, community-based conservation, North American biodiversity, invasive species
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Appalachia, the Ozarks)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Agricultural land
David Fike
Glassberg/Greensfelder Distinguished University Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science, WashU
Primary subject(s) of interest: Biogeochemical cycling in modern/ancient marine sediments and soils
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global--currently: Australia, Canada, France, French Guiana, Estonia, Lithuania, Italy, New Zealand, Namibia, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Sweden, US
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Marine, Soils
Martha Fischer
General Curator and Director of WildCare Institute Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa, Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park
- Email: Fischer@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: All Horn if Africa wildlife including Grevy's zebra, hirola, black rhino, mountain nyala, giraffe, African wild ass, and Ethiopian wolf; southeast Asian wildlife, such as banteng; local Missouri wildlife and urban biodiversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Horn of Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somaliland
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Savanna, Grassland, Deserts, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Michael Frachetti
Professor of Archaeology, WashU
- Email: frachetti@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Anthropology, Archaeology, Asia, Human Ecology, Grassland ecology, Tropical jungles
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Asia-Pacific (Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Grassland, Deserts, Urban areas, Mountains
Ashley D. Franklin
Program Analyst, AZA Reproductive Management Center, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: franklin@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Reproductive biology and management, genetics, endocrinology, applied statistics, mammals (particularly felids and canids)
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global; wild and captive populations
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Zoos and Aquariums
Gayle Fritz
Professor Emerita of Archaeology, WashU
- Email: gjfritz@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Agriculture, plant domestication, archaeobotany, ethnobotany, and conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Mexico, United States (Mississippi River valley, St Louis Metro area, SE and Southwest US)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Freshwater, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas
Roy Gereau
Assistant Curator and Tanzania Program Director, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Floristics, plant taxonomy, and plant conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Tanzania
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Urban areas
Theresa Gildner
Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, WashU
- Email: gildner@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Human biology, parasitology, host-pathogen coevolution, immune function
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Ecuador, United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Agricultural land, Urban areas, Rainforest
Danelle Haake
RiverWatch Director and Stream Ecologist, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center
- Email: dhaake@lc.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Anthropogenic impacts on aquatic invertebrates; ecological impacts of pavement deicers; freshwater mussel population dynamics; community science; ecological epidemiology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Robbie Hart
Director, William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Climate change impacts on plant ecology and human environmental knowledge systems; ethnobotany; montane and alpine; Madagascar; community-based conservation; food plants
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Himalaya; Hengduan/Mountains of Southwest China; Pacific Northwest; Madagascar
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land
LEC Seed Grant Projects
- Biological Inventory and Conservation of Arevik National Park and Zangezur Sanctuary, Armenia
- Protecting Biodiversity and Human Health through Wild Edible Plants of Alandraza-Agnalavelo Sacred Forest, Madagascar
- Socio-economic and Cultural Adaptation to Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change: Analysis and Intervention Efficacy Study in Three Madagascar Subsistence Communities
Julie Hartell-DeNardo
Kevin Beckmann Curator of Carnivores and WildCare Center for Polar Bear Conservation Director, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: hartell@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Carnivore conservation, Carnidae, Felidae, Ursidae, Canidea, Pinnipedia
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Africa (Namibia, Somaliland, Tanzania, Kenya), Alaska
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Marine, Agricultural land
Heidi Hellmuth
Curator of Primates, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: hellmuth@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Primate conservation, animal welfare, animal behavior and behavior management (enrichment and training)
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Malaysia (orangutan), Republic of Congo (chimpanzee and gorilla); I am the program coordinator for our partnerships with HUTAN in Malaysian Borneo and with the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project in Republic of Congo
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Zoos
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Erik Herzog
Professor of Biology and Neuroscience, Viktor Hamburger Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, WashU
- Email: herzog@biology.wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Circadian rhythms, light pollution, preterm birth, brain cancer
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Deserts, Urban areas
Sarah Holaday
Director of Animal Care & Conservation, Endangered Wolf Center
Primary subject(s) of interest: Conservation
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Agricultural land
Nathan Jacobs
Professor, Computer Science & Engineering, WashU
- Email: jacobsn@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Computer Vision, Remote Sensing, Species Distribution Modeling
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas
Ben Jellen
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy
- Email: ben.jellen@gmail.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: The ecology, physiology, behavior, learning, and conservation of amphibians, reptiles and birds
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Central and eastern Missouri and central and southern Illinois
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Freshwater, Urban areas
Nisa Karimi
Assistant Scientist, Science and Conservation Division, Africa and Madagascar Program, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: nkarimi@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant ecology & evolution, pollination biology, conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Madagascar, Tanzania, South Africa
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts
Elizabeth (Lisa) Kelley
Executive Director-WildCare, Director-Center for Conservation in Madagascar, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: lkelley@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Coordinating wildlife programs and evaluation, wildlife conservation, anthropology, primatology, lemurs
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Madagascar, global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savana, Deserts
Elizabeth Kellogg
Member and Robert E. King Distinguished Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Primary subject(s) of interest: Evolution of development, phylogenetics, grass diversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Warm places globally: Africa ,Asia, Australia, North America, South America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Grassland
Jason Knouft
Professor of Biology, Saint Louis University; Director, Freshwater Policy Institute, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center
- Email: jason.knouft@slu.edu
- Developing the Bluntnose Minnow (Pimephales notatus) as a Model for Studying Genomic Responses of Freshwater Species to Urban Environments
- Genomic Investigation of Gut Microbiome Associations in Freshwater Fish Assemblages
- Going Wild in Forest Park: Tracking the Movement of Wildlife and Disease in an Urban Food Web
Doug Ladd
Senior Lecturer, Sam Fox School, WashU
- Email: dladd@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Lichen taxonomy
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: North America (Interior Highlands, Great Plains, Central Tallgrass Prairie, Great Lakes)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Kelly Lane-deGraaf
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University
- Email: kelly.lanedegraaf@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Disease ecology, environmental racism, population genetics
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Danielle N. Lee
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville
- Email: danilee@siue.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Animal Behavior, Mammalogy, Ethology, Urban Ecology, Science Outreach, STEM Diversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Mid-West United States (Saint Louis Metro area); Tanzania (Arusha)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Urban areas
Kieran Lindsey
Program Director, Online Master of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech
- Email: kieranlindsey@gmail.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Urban wildlife, human-wildlife interface
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Haijun Liu
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Saint Louis University
- Email: haijun.liu@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Photosynthetic microbes, photosynthesis adaptation mechanisms, coral bleaching, natural light energy harvesting diversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: USA, global (marine, coral symbiont dinoflagellates), Mideast (Israel)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Deserts, Agricultural land
Xinyi Liu
Associate Professor of Archaeology, WashU
- Email: liuxinyi@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Archaeology of Food, Domestication, Paleoenvironment, Food Globalization
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: China, Tibetan Plateau, Kazakhstan, Central America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Grassland, Agricultural land, High altitude environment
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Quinn Long
Director, Shaw Nature Reserve, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Conservation and restoration of rare plant species and natural communities, particularly grassland, savannah, and woodlands
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Midwestern and Southeastern United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland
Bill Lowry
Professor Emeritus of Political Science, WashU
- Email: lowry@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Environmental policy
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (USA), Missouri and Western USA
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Public lands and waters